The present disclosure relates to methods, systems and devices for access control, and in particular for controlling access to a facility such that unauthorized or unauthenticated personnel is prevented from gaining access to the facility.
In the present disclosure, the term “facility” may be defined as a place, amenity, or piece of equipment provided for a particular purpose. For example, a facility may be an establishment, a premises or a location which a user can access, occupy, and use. For example they may include, but are not limited to travel-related facilities such as airport check-in counters or boarding gates or electronic access gates or devices.
Conventionally, before boarding a flight, a passenger goes to a check-in counter at the airport to complete formalities procedures and collects a boarding pass. For example, the airport staff is typically required authenticate the identity of the passenger, for example, by comparing the photograph of the passenger's passport or other photo IDs with the passenger himself or herself at the check-in counter. The airport staff, who is typically associated with an airline company, also verifies booking details or ticket information of the passenger against the airline's database to confirm that a seat is available for allocation to the passenger. Upon completion of the above procedures, a boarding-pass is issued to the passenger which allows the passenger to enter an access-controlled area (such as for security or immigration clearance) upon presenting the boarding-pass and the passport or other identity document. Several rounds of verification and authentication are performed in a few other instances before the passenger reaches the boarding gate. In particular, passenger's boarding pass is verified against the identity document with the physical presence of the passenger before officers for security check, immigration clearance, and/or at the boarding-gate before boarding the airplane.
Such processes are tedious, time-consuming, and cumbersome for both passengers and the officers. Passengers may run a risk of missing the flights due to the delay caused by such processes, especially when the volume of traffic at the airport is large which significantly increases the waiting time for passengers. In addition, the existing verification and authentication process may be prone to errors, as the officers may be required to check through various documentation of a large number of passengers in great detail every day.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved method and system for access control, such as, but not limited to controlling access to access-restricted premises.